Creating A Sourcing Plan For Your Procuring Success Today

So you’ve received a job order from the HR manager, and they are eager to know how you plan to source for quality talent. However, developing a sourcing plan that’s right for everyone as far as sourcing strategy, time and cost is concerned is usually difficult and mostly beyond the scope of the average sourcing plan specialist. Fortunately, here are some smart sourcing tactics to help create and deliver a sourcing plan that will impress the hiring staff and put you on the fast track to procuring success.

Source matrix

If the root of your sourcing plan is a collection of books, manuals and old magazine clippings, boy have we got news for you. Throw them out! The smart sourcing plan’s tools should at the very least start with a source matrix. In creating your own source matrix, it is really up to you, some prefer a spreadsheet full of tabs divided according to industry or job function, and some like the use of fancy apps and graphics. The possibilities for implementing your sourcing strategy are endless when you use a source matrix!

The source matrix of your sourcing plan should function as your central repository of job posting sites, social network notes, resume mining databases, research site links, blog lists and other tools. Remember to key-in as much information as possible including links, pricing, usernames/passwords, etc. Try to appoint at least 1-3 people to keep your source matrix constantly updated — it is the lifeblood of your sourcing strategy!

The sourcing plan cover

Many recruiters often fail to realize the importance of the sourcing plan’s cover. Always take note that your hiring and HR managers will only be interested your smart sourcing tactics if your cover is appealing and easy to read. Yes, your sourcing plan should be content-driven but it should not be over the top either. We recommend using a uniform template so that your sourcing strategy shines, directing their view quickly and reliably. Don’t forget to include a section about the methodologies implemented, costing, expiry date of postings, links and more.

Plan your sections

Your sourcing plan must have a table of contents listing its various sections. A smart sourcing method we recommend is to include:

An overview: Procuring success always starts with being brief! You want to be able to explain in a nutshell to anyone who knows nothing about the job what the client is looking for. So remember to include the title, job number, hiring manager, HR manager, recruiter and sourcing professional. Also provide the names and titles of the interview panel whenever possible.

Recommended tactics: Sometimes a recruiter will immediately know the best strategies to use given his/her past experience with the job type, level and salary brand. Other times, recruiters will employ a standard list of tactics they like to try before getting more creative. As a sourcing plan expert, you must be able think of a sourcing strategy from just the job description and the hiring team’s input. The basic sourcing strategy that you’ve documented from this will then function as the blueprint for your team’s procuring success.

Recommended social media tactics: A must in this digital Gen-Y era. Here, your sourcing strategy is given leeway to get a bit innovative. Perhaps you plan to advertise and then release a series of position-related tweets on Twitter? Leverage LinkedIn to hunt down quality talent?

Recommended industry associations and other relevant sites: Recruiters are aware of how useful industry association sites can be, but not all of them allow job postings or membership lists to be mined and swapped. With a sourcing strategy of providing a separate section just for associations — along with their tolerance levels for sharing — you will kill two birds with one stone.

Likely outcome: Yes, this is how your sourcing plan lives or dies. Hiring managers always love to hear about takeaways and results. They want to know what they will be getting from your sourcing plan. No compromises here, you will need to stay on top of your sourcing plan and keep track of your progress so that you can regularly share the news of your procuring success with that eager hiring team.

Sending the plan

Most recruiters cover all the electronic bases, which is good. However, here’s a sourcing strategy that increases your chances of procuring success: The follow-up call. Conducting these calls clarifies your sourcing plan and ensures your team appears more professional and empathetic. If the hiring team is willing to gather again after a subsequent or more defined plan has been constructed, you should do this as soon as possible to get everyone on the same page — electronically and through calls — too.

Defending the plan

No one likes drama, but more often than not the hiring team may have some grievances about your sourcing strategy. Relax, just be sure to accumulate all requested sourcing and copies of all communication with other sourcing documentation for the job order. That way, you will stay on top of which smart sourcing tactic was chosen at the time and who cleared it. When the vacancy is filled, always remember to cancel job postings that are still active!

Regardless of your hiring team’s preferences and styles, the sourcing plan is the best method for tracking sources, organising your efforts for future job orders, controlling costs and branding yourself as a recruitment expert. Here’s to your procuring success!

Having a plan before you jump into anything is an absolute must! we here at ThunderQuote hope that this article was able to provide you with helpful strategic tactics that will be put to good use.

ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.